Jump to content

Rob's High Intensity Training Log


Recommended Posts

Good training Rob, I'm kind of like you in the sense that I don't like to train more than two days in a row. I just feel that it's too much of a workload and the time would be better spent on recovery.

 

Indeed mate, as am sure you know, the theory of a given idea doesn't always work in application. I should have know better lol, Im actually taking this week off training, i was still feeling the effects of training 3 days in a row at the start of this week. On my return to training i'm gonna do what i've always found delivered me my best results, that is, training once every 4-7 days, my sweet spot is 5-6 days:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 509
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Back to training today after a 2 week layoff...

 

Am back in the gym again, i was missing the machines:)

 

This afternoons workout

 

1. Underhand Pulldown (2 second hold in contracted position)

95kgs x 6 reps to failure

 

2. Shoulder width grip Smith Machine Bench Press

110kgs x 5 reps to failure (stopping the bar a couple of inches above my chest)

 

3. D-B High Pulls

2 x 40kgs x 11 reps to failure (2 second hold in the contracted position)

 

Back to basics, a 2 way split (upper body / lower body), 3 set workouts...

 

Next workout will be in 4 or so days, using the two day rule, that'll be Leg Presses, Romanian DL's and Calf Presses

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just got done with my leg training...

 

Decided to do it at my home gym, in my father-in-laws garage.

 

trained in a fasted state...

 

Heavy D-B Squats

Sissy Squats

Romanian Deadlifts

Hip Belt Low Cable Donkey Calf Raises

*one set to failure each after warm-ups

 

Ive decided to begin again with the warrior diet, ie 20 hrs of under eating, followed by a 4hr overeating phase, i believe this way of eating is congruent with are geneo and evolution as a species, that is, we evolved as a species that did not always have food so readily available as we have today. (its my belief this is the reason why obesity is now common).

 

I happen to agree with Ori Hofmelker (founder of defense nutrition), food is for replenishment, not fuel! That also holds true, as that the body uses a fair amount of energy to digest food. I understand the current trend of eating "little and often", however there is a flaw with that approach, eating "little and often" never allows the body to properly detoxify or fully recover. The research that's been done of late, strongly suggests that....blood pressure lowers, the heart beats slower, there's growth hormone secretion, there's increased insulin sensitivity, there's increased cognitive abilities, there's reduced risk of cancers and there's increased longevity to name a few of the benefits.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

LOL...

 

i take two-three layoffs a year (though i do some active rest, such as martial arts training and/or hiking and walking), i always come back to training stronger, and with less aches and pains. The Marjory of trainees today imo overtrain, especially natural trainees, they almost never give their bodies a break from the rigors of hard training. Most operate under the notion that if they consume enough protein, they can train as much as they like, they say, "there's no such thing as over-training, only under-eating", or "bodybuilding is 80% nutrition", to this i say...BULLSHIT!!

 

The body first requires an adequate stimulus, it then requires A "precise" amount time for the body to produce an adaptive response. Can you build muscle by overtraining? Of course, but i'm of the opinion (and many experts opinion), you'll reach your genetic potential much faster and with a lot less wear and tear on your body following the universal principles that nature has put in place.

 

Give your body a break now and then, I guarantee you'll come back stronger than ever:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah I agree Rob. I've got most of MM's stuff and read a lot of John Little's work as well ~ fascinating.

 

I understand the concepts and even going back to what Arthur Jones used to talk about still holds merit today; I've applied it myself, experienced a lot of trial and error and for me, personally I find that I make the best gains from training HIT style but with a shade more volume than their traditional approach and recommendations.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great stuff MF,

 

Next to MM, John Little is my favorite writer, the man's a font of knowledge whom also uses logic and reason as the driving forces of his thinking. As for Jones, despite contributing a great deal to exercise science, he was a right winged nasty pace of work, he liked to bully the people who worked for him, including Mike and Ray, in fact, when Ray stood up to him one day, Jones fired him and had him thrown off the premises. He liked to boast about how many people he'd killed, and according to Boyer Coe, he liked to beat the fuck out of his then child son. The worlds better out without assholes like that.

 

Indeed some can tolerate more exposure to H.I.T than others, i personally need the recommended 4-7 days between workouts, i think if i didn't do other activities (martial arts training) and didn't work so many hours i'd probably be able to tolerate slightly more, but hey, we all gotta work:(

 

With regards to volume, when i train with free weights i found i could tolerate more volume per workout (i spoken with quite a few hitters that said the same), on the other hand, i feel much more fatigued from machine based workouts.

 

I can only speculate, that this is because - For example when using pre-exhaustion for the pecs, a pec deck provides maximum resistance in the fully contracted position, were-as a D-B Flye does not, or how a machine pullover provides resistance through a much greater range than say a D-B or BB pullover. With machine compound movements, there's less balance and intramuscular coordination required, the machines allow the individual focus on intense muscular contraction's, not skill. I feel its because of this, less volume can be tolerated when using machines, that, and the combination of Mikes recommendation of eliminating momentum by using a 4-2-4 cadence on most movements.

 

Of course, this is not to say free weights don't have their place, they most certainly do, used properly, their extremely productive tool's.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Today's workout...

 

Underhand grip pulldown

95kgs x 8 reps to failure

 

Shoulder width grip smith machine bench press

112.5kgs x 6 reps to failure

 

D-B high pull

2 x 40kgs x 14 reps to failure

 

Happy with the increases from the last time i workout my upper body (9 days ago), though of course, its the entire physical system that's stimulated.

 

I must point out, i'm not a lazy individual, i love hard training, i just prefer a more scientific approach to training, rather than a traditional or arbitrary one. I often have the guys at the reception of my gym say to me, "well Rob, that workout out of yours was only 15 minutes", or " it wasn't worth your while getting changed", my stock response has become "well, i had to warm up:)".

 

When anyone really doubts the theory of H.I.T, i invite them for a workout with me, one of those people was my now training partner and nephew (who was into powerlifting at the time), we trained legs H.I.T style, we began with calf presses, then Romanian Deadlifts and then finished with Leg Presses, all for just one set to failure per movement. After being push to complete and utter failure on the leg press, my nephew struggled to get up and out of the leg press machine, looking rather pale, sweating profusely, and with his head hanging, he made a swift v-line for the fire exit door, he kicked the door open and began to throw up outside, i went out a to see if he was OK, well..actually no i just wanted to laugh at him, but anyway, i said to him, "that was a 3 set, 13 minute workout, do you still think the duration of a workout is important now?" His response... "fuck you" lol.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When anyone really doubts the theory of H.I.T, i invite them for a workout with me, one of those people was my now training partner and nephew (who was into powerlifting at the time), we trained legs H.I.T style, we began with calf presses, then Romanian Deadlifts and then finished with Leg Presses, all for just one set to failure per movement. After being push to complete and utter failure on the leg press, my nephew struggled to get up and out of the leg press machine, looking rather pale, sweating profusely, and with his head hanging, he made a swift v-line for the fire exit door, he kicked the door open and began to throw up outside, i went out a to see if he was OK, well..actually no i just wanted to laugh at him, but anyway, i said to him, "that was a 3 set, 13 minute workout, do you still think the duration of a workout is important now?" His response... "fuck you" lol.

 

I find this with crossfit all the time. Someone recently said to me, "when I first started this if you'd have told me that a 4 minute workout could leave be lying on the floor gasping for breath, I'd have told you that you were lying".

 

I love it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Andi,

 

Hows it going...

 

Oh yes, if your motivated enough, you can really tax the body in minutes...

 

Heres a great example of what can be done with just 4-5 minutes of H.I.T once a week...i've spoken with this individual of a few occasions, really nice guy, and great athlete.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tonight's leg workout...

 

1. Leverage style Leg Presses

360kgs x 7 reps to failure

 

2. Romanian DLs

100kgs x 9 reps to failure

 

3. Seated Calf Raise Machine

80kgs x 14 reps to failure (3 second hold in the contracted position)

 

I'm done, but, its at least its time to feast:) I fancy some Mexican bean and salad wraps, with apple and oatmeal vegan pancakes and vegan butterscotch sauce to top, oh yes:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This afternoon's workout...

 

1. Seated Dip Machine

125kgs x 7 reps to failure + 2 forced reps with superslow negatives

 

2. Machine Pullover

90kgs x 5 reps to failure + static hold to failure

 

3. Hammer Strength Chest supported Row

120kgs 5 reps to failure (holding the weight in the contracted position for a second or two)

 

4. Standing Bi-Lateral D-B Curls

2 x 22.5kgs x 8 reps to failure

 

Excellent workout, was super motivated today, really enjoyed the intensity, workout was completed in 12 minutes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've decided to pull the plug on the warrior diet i've been following, couple of things were wrong, firstly i was dropping weight far to fast, and secondly after shoveling in a few thousand calories in one sitting at night which wasn't an problem), the following morning i've been feeling sickish for the first few hours of the day. Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained i suppose, i did like the theory and concept, but the application was a different story.

I'm not given up on intermittent fasting all together, i'm switching to a lean gains style 8 hour feeding window, its a bit easier to follow (especially when your 245lbs).

 

Today was....

 

12pm

a shit load of fruit

 

3pm

Big ass bowl of whole wheat spicy Pasta (home made salsa with jalapenos)

 

5pm

medium sized bag of mixed nuts

 

8pm

Moroccan curry, with sweet potatoes, lentils, and chickpea's (the whole pot lol)

Naughty afters - vegan cookies

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Max Contraction (static) Leg workout...

 

1. Leg Extension (omega set)

110kgs x static holds to failure

 

2. Leverage style Leg Press

300kgs x static hold to failure

 

3. Lying Leg Curl Machine (omega set)

55kgs x static holds to failure

 

4. Standing Calf Raise Machine (omega set)

100kgs x static holds to failure

 

Rest between exercises was kept to a minimum, just enough time to get set up. The static hold on the Leg Press was held in the position of maximum motor arm, the rest were held in the fully contracted position.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Changed gyms today, i had been training in a busy commercial gym, i was sick of the loud crap music, the poser's, the cheesy fake tanned trainers, waiting around on machines etc, so i join this real old school gym in my home town. The equipment was hand made in the 60s, but is still very functional, there's no music, the only thing you can hear in iron being lifted, no waiting around, no posers, it appears there are still some real gyms about:)

 

Back to my 3 way split...

 

Today's workout...

1. Pec Deck - static hold to failure

Supersetted with

2. Seated Chest Press Machine - one set to failure

one minute rest...

3. Standing Military Press machine - one set to failure

one minute rest...

4. Triceps Press-Down - one set to failure

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Ross,

 

It gets better, it costs just £5 per week, half the price of the commercial gym:)

 

Here's a gentleman that's been training in it for 40 years, his name is Eric Dowie, there was a documentary on the BBC last year about him going to Venice California to compete at the age of 70. Inspirational man

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Last nights workout...

 

Warm-up - 2 sets moderately heavy low rep sets of exercise 2...

 

1. Stiff Arm Cable Pulldown - 1 set to failure

immediately followed by

2. Seated Chest Supported Row - 1 set to failure

3. Bench Press Machine Shrugs - 1 set to failure

4. Preacher Curl Machine - 1 set to failure

5. prone Hypers - 1 weighted set to failure

 

There was a 1-2 second hold in the contracted position of all the exercises...

 

Workout was completed in just over 12 minutes...

 

Really liking the effect of the pre-exhaustion, its a great low stress, high intensity technique ...

 

On this 3 way split routine am currently using, each muscle is being targeted just once every 15-16 days days or so,

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Love the new gym i'm at, however i just found out yesterday about a new H.I.T gym opening in just 5 minutes from my home, Its owned by the current Mr Northern Ireland John Martini, John himself is a hitter to the core, cant wait for it to open next month:)

Edited by HIT Rob
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14-8-13

 

Legs...

 

Leg Extension - one set to failure

Immediately followed by...

Seated Leg Press - one set to failure

Leg Curl - one set to failure

Standing Calf Raise - one high rep set to failure

 

19-8-13

Cable Crossover ( half reps, focusing on heavier contractions ) - one set to failure

Seated Chest Press Machine ( 5 second rest pause between reps ) - one set to failure

Lateral Raise Machine ( 5 second rest pause between reps) - one set to failure

Weighted Negative only Dips - one set to negative failure

 

Going with a high stress cycle or two, using partial reps, rest pause, and negative only work.

Edited by HIT Rob
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Love the new gym i'm at, however i just found out yesterday about a new H.I.T gym opening in just 5 minutes from my home, Its owned by the current Mr Northern Ireland John Martini, John himself is a hitter to the core, cant wait for it to open next month:) I just hope its Nautilus equipment:))

 

Got tickets today to see Lee Priest in seminar next month aswell, he here next month at Valhalla gym, apparently hes making a come back. Should be fun.

 

 

Last I heard Lee is suppose to be competing at NABBA Mr.Universe 2013 on 12th of October, though I've heard a lot of speculation about whether or not he will actually compete. I saw pics of him back in June and he's def looking cut.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share




×
×
  • Create New...